STRATEGIC MEDIA COMMITTEE
Gongloe Global Movement
Telephone: 857-269-9011/612-607-9281
PRESS STATEMENT
BOSTON, MA, USA- The Gongloe Global Movement vehemently condemns and deplores the recent discovery of arms and ammunition at the Freeport of Monrovia, which appears to be a calculated attempt by unscrupulous elements with nefarious intent to subvert the democratic process of the Republic of Liberia.
As we have repeatedly indicated on multiple occasions, the Liberian People will fiercely resist any dishonorable orchestration aimed at destabilizing and hijacking the nation’s constitutional democratic process, for which our people have labored over the years to achieve.
Almost 39 years ago on July 1, 1984, the sovereign people of Liberia overwhelmingly approved the current Liberian Constitution in a national referendum and about 18 months later, in January 1986, the new organic law came into being. Since then, all sorts of wicked attempts have been made to set aside the Constitution for political expediency. As it is now clear, those hasty, horror-laden disruptions and short-cuts to a smooth and peaceful constitutional change of government have all proven to be disastrous for the country, resulting in the callous destruction of lives and property and a country deeply laden with sufferings, deaths and despair.
Against such dreadful and grotesque backdrop, we are extremely horrified, appalled, alarmed and utterly indignant at recent report by the joint security of the Liberian Government–led by the Liberian National Police–that it had uncovered a large cache of deadly weapons and ammunition in a container at the Freeport of Monrovia. According to the Police, those destructive weapons were allegedly imported to Liberia by certain individuals from the United States.
Given this preliminary revelation by the Liberian National Police about the origin of the arms and ammunition, we call on the United States embassy accredited to Liberia to closely monitor the investigation in order to verify and authenticate the final report. We look forward to the United States Government’s swiftly action to hold accountable individual(s) or entities–if Americans or residents in the U.S.–when identified as being responsible for the shipping of those items from America. Such accountability will discourage any future attempt to import deadly weapons of war to Liberia, using the United States as the origin of supply.
It is understandable that our heightened mental anguish and profound consternation stem from the fact that this attempt at heinous subversion is being reported with only nine months to the nation’s presidential and general elections. We are mindful that in past experiences, such devilish orchestration had led to the derailment or disruption of the nation’s democratic process, unnecessary loss of lives, intimidation of political leaders, dampening the democratic aspiration of our people and subjecting innocent citizens to untold sufferings. Moreover, as past experiences had also ominously indicated, periods leading to, during and the aftermath of electoral activities in Liberia, had historically been characterized by strange incidences of wicked maneuverings.
We recall the historic 1871 orchestration leading to the death of President Edward James Roye; the 1927 election in which a little over 15,000 voters registered and more than 250,000 votes were shockingly cast for incumbent President Charles Dunbar Burgess King and its disgraceful aftermath resulting in King’s resignation on December 30, 1930; the 1951 election during which Didwho Twe and his supporters were tormented, leading to his exile in Sierra Leone; the 1955 election after which the infamous “Plot that Failed” occurred and opposition Senator Samuel David Coleman was assassinated; the 1985 election after which the November 12th incident leading to deaths and destruction occurred and the Christmas Eve 1989 rebel incursion which turned out to be an unprecedented horror for the entire country, and more.
Certainly, the Liberian People don’t want to go down such pernicious dungeon of death, destruction and disgrace anymore. We are therefore urging President George Manneh Weah and his administration to thoroughly probe this grave allegation in a meticulous and transparent fashion, to remove any iota of reasonable doubt and suspicion surrounding it. And if the perpetrators are found liable, the law must take its due course.
As mentioned above, since the weapons in question allegedly originated from the United States, we are also advising the Weah Administration to immediately seek the cooperation and assistance of the U. S. Government, to render the investigation process much more forensic, transparent and expedite its eventual outcome.
We are also admonishing the Weah Administration not to use the alleged discovery of arms and ammunition at the Freeport of Monrovia as an alibi to harass and intimidate opposition politicians and other critics of the Government. As we have already indicated, such tactics had proven to be counter-productive in the past and in this 21st century, it’s an under-statement to say they are definitely bound to be counter-productive.
Signed:
Gibson W. Jerue
Chairman
Joe Bartuah
Consultant